I’ve written about Tangawizi before but it was 12 years ago in the early days of the blog. I listed it as one of my ‘favourite haunts’ – a category I eventually abandoned but Tangawizi remains a favourite haunt and the only place I ever order a takeaway from. I thought it deserved some attention again!

I went to Tangawizi with my son last night. It was his idea and he was treating me as a thank you for the help I give him and his wife with their three boys (7, 4 and 1), not to mention the two dogs. I think I’m very blessed to live so close to the family and see such a lot of my little grandsons and be involved in their lives – including sometimes the early morning school run! – so in a sense, I don’t need a ‘thank you’, but it’s nevertheless lovely to be appreciated. ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry’ became a catchphrase from the Eric Segal novel Love Story, which was made into a film in 1970 and was a huge box office success. I’ve always thought, however, that it’s the people most precious to you that you should give your greatest attention to and never take them for granted, and where appropriate ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ should always be said. Anyway, whether or not a thank you was needed, it’s always a special treat to have an evening out with my son, so his company at one of my favourite restaurants was definitely a celebration.

We’ve had a number of takeaways from Tangawizi over the years, including on my birthday last month, but I hadn’t actually been in person for a while – about 18 months ago? – and going to the restaurant is always a delight. Apart from the fabulous food, there’s a great ambience and a warm, friendly welcome. The restaurant opened in 2004 and has received many awards and much great recognition. They serve food from North India and the cooking is of the highest quality and sophistication.

Pappadums and pickles always come first with drinks. I had a glass of white wine and my son a beer. My son also suggested we had some Tandoori King Prawns to start (£14.10), which were wonderful.

Little complimentary Mango Lassis always come at this stage and this is the one thing I miss in a takeaway – they are so gorgeous and a delightful sweet but refreshing treat before the main course.

As the meal was my treat, I was pretty much left to decide what to order. We have favourites – ones we order regularly, especially when having a takeaway, and for bread, I always like the Peshwari Naan, stuffed with coconut (£3.65). This is particularly good to have freshly cooked in the restaurant and coming straight to the table.

We do like our hot curries but the mild ones can be just as delicious and I like Tangawizi’s Chicken Korma (£11.50) a lot so chose that: ‘Juicy pieces of chicken breast cooked in a creamy cashew nut sauce’ as one of our dishes.

As a contrast to the mild curry, a medium-hot lamb dish was ordered – Methi Gosht: ‘Traditional spring lamb cooked in a rich and spicy tomato and fenugreek sauce’ (£13.05). This was wonderful. It’s now my new favourite dish at Tangawizi. The lamb was cooked to that lovely ‘fall apart’ stage and the thick, rich sauce coating was absolutely delicious.

Yes I like bread and rice, so a Pulao Rice (£3.75) was ordered.

And we had to have a side. But which to choose of their great side dishes? We like the okra a lot – Bhindi Koti Masala and also the aubergine dish, Baingan Bhurta. But I went for a spinach favourite: Saag Aloo: ‘Potatoes tossed with spinach flavoured with garlic and cumin (Side: £6.85). This is one of the best ways to eat spinach – which I like a lot, but cooked in this way is fantastic.

What a fabulous plateful of food!

Tangawizi never disappoints but it was particularly nice to eat in the buzzing restaurant, full of happy diners, and spend the evening talking to Jonathan while enjoying the most fabulous Indian food.